World Turned Over
by Inez Ylon
Summary: Perhaps it was wrong to agree to such terms. I cannot say. But...I also cannot say I would do it any differently, even knowing how it would turn out to be.
1. Spin Beneath You

A/N: I do not own FMA folks, but I partially own the semi-original characters in here.

_"Baby's black balloon makes her fly, Almost fell into that hole in your life, You weren't thinking about tomorrow', Cause you were the same as me, But on your knees, A thousand other boys could never reach you, How could I have been the one? I saw the world spin beneath you, And scatter like ice from the spoon, That was your womb, Coming down the world turned over, And angels fall without you there, And I go on as you get colder, Or are you someone's prayer?"_ – The Goo Goo Dolls, "Black Balloon"

* * *

_It all started with Alphonse Elric. Well, not precisely–the true beginning goes back farther than either of us. But the part we played in this starts with my brother, Alphonse Elric. It starts with him, but it ends with me, Edward Elric. Looking back, it's funny, because it usually happens the other way around. Funny, yeah...in a bitter way that almost makes me sick, even now. And this...this is the story of how we turned our world over._

* * *

Alphonse Elric was walking down Eastern City's main street, watching the midday market in full swing. The fourteen-year-old boy had very little trouble navigating the crowd–a fact surprising until you knew him. For Alphonse Elric was really no boy: he was a soul housed in a suit of armor, kept in this world by his brother's blood alone. He had lived this way for four years, and was very nearly accustomed to the odd glances he received. He had learned not to let it bother him. After all, there was nothing he could do about it.

A car began to make its way through main street, the driver leaning on the horn, as though to blast people and horse-carts out of the way by sheer noise. It was slow going, for the midday market was busy and full, with many attendees.

Alphonse retreated, along with a wave of the crowd, to a stand beside a booth full of fresh apples. The woman, a cheery thing round as her apples, began offering her bargain prices in a loud voice. Alphonse shook his head, sheepishly. "No, thank you, ma'am."

He turned, and found himself facing a tall, severe-looking woman. She was almost on eye-level with him–no mean feat, as he was currently a seven-foot tall suit of armor. Her eyes and hair were dark, as were her clothes. She looked him up and down with a studying stare. "You are the one they call Alphonse Elric?" she asked, in a soft voice at odds with her sharp appearance.

"Yes, that's me," Alphonse replied, after a surprised moment.

The woman attempted a smile; it looked as though the effort pained her. "If you please, Mr. Elric, my mistress would like to meet you. She has heard a lot about you. Would you please come with me?"

Alphonse hesitated. This was most peculiar. Very few people knew him by name, or if they did, it was only by reputation as the younger brother of the famous Fullmetal Alchemist. "I'm not the Fullmetal Alchemist," he offered, slowly. "That's my brother."

This time the woman's smile was far more genuine. "Yes, my mistress is well aware of that. She desires to meet both of you, but thought it easier to meet with the younger Elric first, as your older brother is often very busy." She curtsied; her black skirts were full and ruffled. "I ask again, upon my mistress's behalf, that you come with me to meet her."

"Um...can I ask who your mistress is?" queried Alphonse, still a little uncertain.

"Indeed. She is the Lady Joceline Bhaer. You have heard of her, perhaps?"

"...Bhaer...would that be the cat-lady who lives up on Cheshire Street?" Alphonse asked, perking up.

"My mistress is known locally as the cat-lady," the woman admitted.

Alphonse pondered this, but only for as moment. After all, anyone who loved cats must not be so bad. "Okay, I'll come. But I can't stay very long, or my brother might get worried."

The woman curtsied again. "Agreed, Mr. Elric."

* * *

The house on Cheshire Street that was known as "the cat-lady's house" was of impressive architecture. The term "mansion" or "estate" was perhaps more proper than "house," for the building was large and sprawling, and had ample grounds surrounded by a sturdy brick wall. Alphonse took in the elegant structure, brick-built and slate-roofed, and decided that it was an interesting house, one that was delightful to explore on rainy days. The woman led him in, and instantly they were greeted in the hall by very nearly ten cats, felines of various sizes, shapes and colours, all eager to meet the newcomers.

"Back to the parlor, all of you," the woman ordered, in a gentle tone.

Of course, the command did little good, and they trailed a train of cats into the house, as the woman led Alphonse through lofty corridors and two impressive rooms, before stopping at a closed door. "My mistress awaits you. And none of _you_," the woman turned to address the cats sitting behind them, "are allowed in today, on orders! So keep out here with me. You'll have plenty of time to know our guest later." The woman turned back to Alphonse, smiled a soft smile that looked completely out of place on her face, and opened the door, gesturing for him to enter.

No sooner had he than the door shut behind him. He looked at it in surprise, then, hearing his name called in an unfamiliar voice, turned.

The room he stood in was impressive. It was, perhaps, a ballroom, for it was large, with a high ceiling, and the floor was tiled with smooth stones. An enormous window looked out to the west, where the outskirts of the city and the horizon could be seen. At the far end of the room, across from Alphonse, stood a woman, slender and pale in the dim of the room.

"You are Alphonse Elric?" she called again, her voice sweet and carrying.

"Yes ma'am," he answered, coming forward, slowly, for the armor made a loud noise on the stone floor.

The woman came to meet him, and as she came he saw that she was a rather young woman, her skin pale, her eyes and hair dark. She wore a dress of white, that seemed luminous in the dim light, but also seemed to bleach her complexion into something sickly. Despite the unfavorable dress, she was a woman of beauty, with a face an artist might die to paint. She smiled at Alphonse, and the expression would have won the heart of a greater man than himself. "So you are the younger Elric brother! How wonderful that you chose to meet me! I am honored, Mr. Elric!" She paused, and curtsied deeply, almost melting into a pool of white lace and ruffles. "Forgive my eagerness. I am Lady Joceline Bhaer. Do please call me Jo!"

Needless to say, Alphonse was a bit taken aback at such an exuberant welcome. He and his brother were not often welcome anywhere, for his brother was a military alchemist. Those folk, labeled as "dogs of the military," were looked down upon and shunned as bringers of violence and hatred. "Ah...it's nice to meet you, Miss Bhaer. You needn't call me Mr. Elric. Alphonse is fine."

"Then you must call me Jo, if I am to call you Alphonse," Joceline replied, smiling. "Come, come, sit down! Oh, don't mind Meg, there, the cat will sit in that chair every time."

Alphonse carefully picked up the white cat, who purred at him. "Oh, I don't mind. I like cats." He sat down in the chair, and let the cat sit in his lap.

"Oh, wonderful! I see that we shall get along excellently!" Joceline replied, sinking down in her own chair. Her white skirts splayed along the floor in resplendent waves. "And now, my dear Alphonse, I have a request to make of you, and also your brother. I do hate to impose upon you two, but I believe that only you can help me."

"I can't promise anything for my brother," Alphonse warned, stroking the cat in his lap. "What do you need help with?"

That sweet smile crystallized around the edges, and Alphonse wondered if he had just gotten himself into trouble.

* * *

Edward Elric trotted along Dogslane, heading for the small military hotel on the street. He'd stayed out later than usual in the library, and knew that if he did not get back by sunset, his younger brother would worry. While Edward usually didn't care who worried about him, this was Alphonse, and Edward had always been leery of upsetting his sibling. His automail, two artificial limbs, clanked merrily with his pace. His right arm and left leg were of automail, and between then he made quite a racket trotting.

Edward slowed his gait and halted when a dark figure became apparent, standing just before the hotel. It was a woman, tall and thin, with a sharp face that immediately put Edward on his guard. "You are Edward Elric?" she asked, and her voice was soft, at odds with her features.

"Yeah. Why? Who're you?" Edward returned.

The woman nodded her dark head a little, as though acknowledging Edward's suspicion. "My name is Amie. My mistress desires to meet with you, Mr. Elric, for she has heard about you."

"A lot of people have. Sorry, lady, I don't have time to meet your mistress or whoever." Edward began to walk around her, but Amie moved to block him.

"She thought you might say that, sir." She opened the bag at her side, and produced an item that sent Edward back on his heels. "My mistress demands to meet you, Edward Elric. If you are not in her presence by sunset, you forfeit your brother's life."

In her hands she held Alphonse Elric's helm.

* * *

Inez: Well, here we go, happy angst-ing away! And yes, Jo, Amy, and Meg are from Little Women by Lousia May Alcott. Is there a Beth? Well, we'll see.

Roi: Happy angst-ing? That's an oxymoron. And what's up with my name?

Edward: She found the Japanese spelling and thought it was funny. And I HOPE you DON'T intend to hurt my brother, you twisted bitch.

Inez: No, no harm to Alphonse! I like him too much.

Roi: Which cannot be said about us.

Edward: Argh...at least this one is not a long fic.

Inez: Read, review, hate or love, and I don't mind flames...Roi, if you snap at me I'm gonna hurt you.


	2. Swallowed the Light

A/N: I do not own FMA, nor the characters. I just play with them. I do, however, semi-own the almost-original characters.

_"And all the lies everyone's told you, And the love you never knew, It was the things they never showed you, That swallowed the light from the sun, Inside your room, Coming down the world turned over, And angels fall without you there, And I go on as you get colder, Or are you someone's"_ – The Goo Goo Dolls, "Black Balloon"

* * *

_It wasn't her words that shocked me. It was the sight of my brother's head. I _knew_ that helmet better than I knew my own heart. No-one but me could duplicate it so completely–it was no fake. When the threat registered, I knew I had no choice. They had my brother. My _brother_. What else could I do but go with her? And so I went. There are times when I wish...when I wonder...what would have happened if I hadn't gone?_

* * *

Edward Elric walked almost meekly in front of the woman Amie. Almost meekly–there was little about Edward that could be called meek. He hesitated, brought up short by a large wooden door. She leaned around him and opened it, a flick of her wrist gesturing for him to enter. He did, and his boots echoed on stone flooring. His gaze fell on a suit of armor, kneeling in the middle of the large expanse of the floor. Standing behind it was a slender woman, dressed in white stained red by the sun beginning to set.

What really caught Edward's attention was the woman's slender hand...a hand poised directly over the array of blood smeared in the back of the armor. "NO!" he shouted, forgetting himself, any sort of plans he'd had, seeing those fingers so close to Alphonse's tenuous hold on this world.

"Brother?" Alphonse's high, thin voice asked.

"Ah, Edward Elric. So good of you to come!" exclaimed the woman dressed in white. Her dark eyes glinted in the sun's setting rays. "I am the Lady Joceline Bhaer, and I have a proposition for you that I think you will not refuse." Her smile was sweet and beautiful, as her voice was soft and warm. "But please, call me Jo."

"Get your hands off my brother," Edward snarled, tensing where he stood. He quickly calculated the distance between them, how close her hand was to the blood-seal, and what his chances were of attacking her without damaging Alphonse. "Right now."

"But without him, you will not listen to me, or do what I want," Joceline replied, airily.

"But...but how?" Alphonse asked, and Edward's attention latched onto his brother's confusion. "If this is Ed, then who was that before?"

"What do you mean?" Edward asked, frowning.

"That was my trump card against you both. Now, Edward," here Joceline smiled at him, "do us all a favor and agree to behave."

"Why should I listen to you?" demanded Edward, once again judging the distance between them.

"Because your dear younger brother's life is in question," Joceline purred. "And if you attack me, he will die as well." She smiled, and the edges of it were sharp as crystal. "Put your hands behind your back, Edward, and let Amie have them."

"If you think I'll–" Edward cut off as Joceline's hand moved a fraction. He glared up at her smiling dark eyes, and swallowed his protest. Angrily, slowly, he put his hands behind his back. Amie, the resourceful handmaiden, folded his arms so that his left hand touched his right elbow, and vice-versa, and proceeded to tie them there with what felt like rope. Silence, save for the rustle of cloth and rope, reigned until she was done.

"Excellent. Amie will take you to a place better suited for our little...chat. Alphonse shall be well taken care of, don't you worry. And no tricks, my dear Edward...if you misbehave, your brother will pay for it. The same goes for you, Alphonse," Joceline warned, with her sweet smile and gentle voice.

Edward bared his teeth at her in a snarl, but the hand hovering over his brother's life forced obedience into him as Amie carefully steered him away by a thin hand on his shoulder. He was taken down two halls, a flight of stairs, and another door. The room behind the door was simple, boasting a table and two chairs, a wad of blankets on a small mattress on the floor in a corner, and a single window high on the wall, far out of reach. It resembled a dungeon cell more than an actual room.

"My mistress will be here shortly. Please, have a seat," Amie murmured, stepping back and standing by the door. "And do not think of escaping. Your brother will not last long if you try."

"I think you are bluffing," Edward replied, turning to face her. He wriggled his hands. The bonds were tight enough to hold, but not painful.

Amie smiled, and the expression looked far out of place on her sharp face. "You can't take that chance, can you?" she asked, softly.

Once again, Edward found himself without a plan. "...no..." he muttered, after a moment. Temporarily thwarted, he stalked over to a chair, hooked a foot around its leg, pulled it away from the table, and sat down roughly to wait.

* * *

Joceline was not long in coming. Her white dress gleamed in the light of the candle she held. Edward squinted at her–this room was very dark, and the candle-light was almost painful. She smiled at him, and shaded the flame with a slender hand as she came to the table. She took the chair opposite his, and waited a moment before taking her hand away from the candle. Edward flinched a little, but it wasn't so bad this time.

"Forgive my brutish treatment, but I knew no other way to get you to comply," Joceline began, her voice dulcet.

"What do you want," Edward growled, shifting his hands. His left arm was beginning to fall asleep.

"A favor, my dear Edward. I'm afraid there is little I can give you in return, unless it be your lives." She smiled, and angry though he was it still touched Edward. "Will you agree to help me?"

"You have the gall to **ask** me when you have my brother?" Edward demanded, annoyed. "As if I could refuse!"

Her smile never wavered. "You have spunk enough. I like that. Edward Elric, this is what I want you to do." She looked him directly in the eyes, and told him five words that shocked Edward's mouth open.

"You–you...want...what?" he spluttered. "Why?"

"The reasons wouldn't matter to you, and you're a tad young for the details." She laughed a little, but it was a bitter, hollow laugh that cut at him. "If you mean why I've chosen you...well, I have long planned this plot, and you, my dear, are the best pawn I could use."

"If you think I would–" he began, voice rising on every word. He stopped, however, as he remembered whose life he held in danger by denying. He shut his mouth and swallowed the protests yet again. "I can't just do that, you know. They wouldn't let me live."

"Yes, they would, my dear Edward, because they wouldn't catch you." Joceline smiled.

Edward snorted. "As if! I'm pretty well known. They'd catch me within a minute."

"And that is where my trump card comes into play. Amie, tell Beth to come in." Joceline smiled towards the door.

Amie nodded, and opened the door. Edward looked over as the door opened, and caught his breath. For a moment, he wasn't sure if the candlelight was deceiving him. The form walked in, cradling a white cat in its arms, smiled a crooked smile, and said, "you called, mother?" in a voice that could have been Edward's own. Eyes of pale blue met Edward's own golden-chestnut, and he shivered.

"Beth, this is Edward Elric, in the flesh," Joceline proclaimed, gesturing towards her stunned prisoner.

Beth, a golden-haired form no taller than Edward himself, nodded to him. "Pleased to meet you, Edward sir," and the voice slipped from the roughened echo of his own into the high register of a very young female. She smiled, and now the smile was straight, with a dimple in her right cheek.

"You..." he breathed, stunned, unable to say more.

"A startling resemblance, wouldn't you say, my dear Edward?"Joceline's smile was once more crystal-sharp. "Most of this was her idea, my wonderful daughter Beth's idea. And it is she who will help you."

"But she...but you...why?" Edward asked again, bewildered.

Beth smiled again, and it was in the sharpened manner of her mother. "Perhaps you understand, Edward, sir, for you were also abandoned by your father."

For the third time in as many minutes, Edward was shocked speechless. The women were quiet, apparently waiting for him to comprehend all that they had told him. He saw Beth begin to say something, only to be silenced by Joceline. And he waited, let all that he had been told sink in. It was very, very hard to believe. "...I know him. I didn't...I don't think he's like that. He can't be."

"Perhaps not to you. I have tried to contact him, and he has not responded." Joceline smiled a smile to match her laugh–hollow, hurt. "And you will do as I ask, Edward Elric. For your brother's sake, if not for mine."

"And I," said Beth in a low, quavering voice, "if I cannot have the responsibility, then I will take the blame, and gladly." The look she cast upon Edward made his heart hurt–no one that young should have such hatred or anger, he felt.

He thought of refusing. The whole of him wanted desperately to refuse. But he knew, in his heart, that he could not. For his brother's sake, he could not refuse at all. Slowly, Edward Elric lowered his head, and sighed. "I...I'll do it," he whispered. "Just...don't hurt my brother, please."

"Done. I'm glad we can make such a good bargain, Edward." Joceline smiled her crystalline smile, and blew out the candle.

* * *

Inez: Well, here we are, second part! Only one more left! And yes, here is little Beth to complete the four women of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

Edward: I sense...character death! (Glares) NOT MY BROTHER!

Inez: No, not your brother. But someone else! (Singing)

Roi: I sense doom. Well, read, review, flame...(Pulls out gloves) Let's have at it, then!


	3. What You Became

A/N: I do not own FMA, though I do semi-own the partially-created charcters named Meg, Amie, Beth and Joceline.

_"And there's no time left for losing, When you stand before me, Coming down the world turned over, And angels fall without you there, And I go on as you get colder, All because I, Coming down the years turned over, And angels fall without you there, And I go on I'll lead you home, All because I, All because I, I'll become, What you became to me"_ – The Goo Goo Dolls, "Black Balloon"

* * *

_I couldn't believe what I'd agreed to do. The thought sickened me, but what hurt me more was the idea of losing my brother...my brother, the only family I had left. I couldn't live without him. I _couldn't_! The very idea ached physically, right in my chest. And so I agreed...then and now, I know I had no real choice, no matter how much I regret what I did._

* * *

Edward Elric walked toward the Eastern City Military Headquarters. Every ambling step reminded him of the handgun concealed underneath his coat, in the waistband of his pants. But every beat of his heart–and they were many and fast–reminded him of his brother, waiting for him to come back. His brother's life rested on his shoulders...and Edward did not intend to let him down. The closer he got to the military headquarters, the sicker he felt. Breakfast did not sit well on guilt and apprehension, but his brother... So Edward Elric pasted on his crooked smile, said his hello's and greetings, and walked into the building cheerfully–an assassin on his way to his first kill.

He found the First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye at her desk, calmly looking over documents she deemed not necessary for her commanding officer's attention. She smiled up at him; she usually had a smile for him. Edward did his best to smile back naturally, though he wanted desperately to tell her what he was going to do, what he was forced to do.

"You're here early, Edward-kun," she commented, putting her blonde head to one side.

"Ah...yeah. I remembered something I needed to tell the Colonel. It's really important, too. I can't believe I forgot it...stupid idiot drove it out of my head with his uppity ways," Edward grumbled, looking like his usual thundercloud mood as whenever he mentioned the Colonel.

"Did you? I believe the Colonel is in his office. He was speaking to Havoc."

"Thanks, First Lieutenant." Edward tossed her a lazy salute, though she ranked below him, and headed to Colonel Roi Mustang's office. He met Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc in the hall, grumbling and looking highly upset. The Colonel had that effect on many people, it seemed. Edward waved to him, and hesitated at the office door. He took a deep breath, to steady his nerves, clenched his trembling flesh hand into a fist, and walked in. He kicked the door shut behind him, per usual–the arguments tended to get loud in here, and everyone knew it.

"Fullmetal? What are you doing here so early?" Colonel Roi Mustang asked, his dark eyes inquisitive.

"I forgot to tell you something yesterday," Edward growled, hoping he put enough of the usual aggression in his tone. "About what I'm looking for."

"Well, then," Roi muttered, grinning his sly little grin. "Let me get down your files." He turned his back on Edward.

With a hand that hesitated only for a fraction of a second, Edward reached beneath his coat, and drew out the gun. He shifted his stance, took aim...and almost choked there. He couldn't pull the trigger, he _couldn't_...but he recalled Alphonse, and set his finger to the trigger again. He'd almost waited too long. Roi had half-turned. As though in slow motion, Edward saw the man's eyes widen, his mouth open, and one hand start to slide for his pocket. It was too late, Edward thought, as he pulled the trigger.

The silenced gunshot made only a muffled "pop," but in Edward's ears it rang loud as a clap of thunder. He stood, shaking, for a moment, unsure if his legs were going to give out or if he was going to vomit. He could almost still see Roi standing there, eyes wide in shock and sudden fright...the smell of blood was becoming thick in the air, and little rivulets ran down the shelf of files. It had been a head-shot, clean as you please, through the left eye like one shot squirrels. Edward had been good at squirrel-hunting. He gagged at the thought, almost incongruous with what he'd done.

The office door began to open, and the noise stirred Edward from stupor into panic. He whirled, bringing his gun to bear, and stared down the sights into First Lieutenant Hawkeye's startled face. He hesitated, until he saw her reaching out–for the door or her own gun, he did not know–and shot, three times, not bothering to aim. He whirled again and lunged for the window, diving through in a shower of glass. He had just enough presence of mind left to roll when he landed–the window was rather high one. The landing jarred through him despite his roll. He was sure to be bruised. He didn't stop to think. He dashed for the compound's walls, and vaulted over them. He kept running, down several streets and two back alleyways, before he stopped, leaning up against a wall.

His legs gave out then, and he knelt abruptly, bruising his flesh knee and scraping the automail on the cobblestones. A few seconds later, his stomach rebelled, and he deposited his earlier breakfast onto the street before him. He kept heaving, until there was nothing left in his stomach, and sat there, shivering in the long, convulsive shudders of panic.

"Edward!" Booted feet, a mirror image of his, clomped up to him from the alley's entrance. "You didn't run far enough, sir, but that's all right. The gun, and your coat and watch, sir." Blonde Beth pulled him up by his flesh arm, and wrenched the gun from his right. Numbly, he dug out his pocket watch, and handed it over, as well as his red coat. She shrugged it on, tucked the watch in her own pocket, and shoved him towards the end of the alley. "The truck's waiting for you, Edward, sir! Get on!"

Edward scrambled aboard, in the passenger seat of the delivery truck. Beth grinned wickedly at him–his own scimitar smile thrown at him by a mirror image of himself. The truck driver started his vehicle up, and drove away. That wicked smile, below those light blue eyes, was the last Edward saw of her as the truck rumbled down the street. Edward slumped in his seat, with a gloved hand over his mouth, and stared at the passing city with unseeing eyes. He had just shot his commanding officer. He had killed the Colonel. He had murdered Roi Mustang. The thoughts wrenched a choked noise from him, not quite a sob, not quite a moan.

The truck jolted to a halt in the outskirts of the city. The driver, paid only to ferry two children around the town, ordered his passenger out, and headed on his way. Edward found himself standing on the road leading to the wastelands of the eastern deserts. Then he realized that Alphonse was standing there, the suit of armor whole, and looking at him with grave concern.

"Edward? Are you all right? What happened?" Alphonse took several steps forward, and gently set his hands on Edward's shoulders. "Brother? Are you...why are you crying?"

Edward shook his head, wordless, and reached out to hug the armor that housed his brother's soul. He stood there a long moment, took a deep breath, and stepped back. "Well, Al, I guess we better start walking," he told his brother in a voice that, if not completely steady, was determined. He had his younger brother, and that would have to be enough. "We're finding the Philosopher's Stone on our own, now."

* * *

_I am a murderer. I shot the Colonel Roi Mustang. And I did it for my brother's life. Perhaps it was wrong to agree to such terms. I cannot say. But...I also cannot say I would do it any differently, even knowing how it would turn out to be. I never knew what happened to the rest of them...Joceline, with her sad and beautiful smile, Amie the severe, and Beth, the bastard child of Roi Mustang. I do know what happened to the white cat, Meg. Joceline gave her to Alphonse. Strangely enough, we've kept the cat..._

**Finis**

* * *

Inez: (Cackles) Eez done! The end!

Edward: ...

Roi: You KILLED me! With HIM! What an insult!

Edward: What, you think I couldn't do it? Jerk!

Inez: Well, while they fight, feel free to read, review, or flame! TTFN!


End file.
